Nutritional needs and supplements

Size zero and the new age ideas of desirability changed the spectrum for the food industry and nutritionists. It also changed the shelf life and times of the nutritional food supplements that were used in conjunction with dieting and exercise regimen to help in weight reduction. This is an especial case and supplements have been used since time immemorial even in the form of herbs or even limestone. Dietary supplements are intended to provide needed vitamins, minerals, fatty acids or amino acids that may not be sufficiently present in a person's diet.

Nutritional food supplements are consumed across a cross section of people and they are sometimes superfluous and otherwise helpful. They can come in myriad shapes and sizes of capsules, powders, and even shakes. This is the danger of supplementing diet and nutrition since there is a profusion of drugs available to individuals at the click of a button into your shopping cart. They aren't necessarily considered drugs and can be purchased in online supplements shops. 

Let's do a little case study of the use of these nutritional supplements. Women are a perfect place to start with their unique child bearing qualities and subsequent menopausal associated duress.

Woman A is six months into her pregnancy and after ultrasound she knows it to be a boy. She requires the intake of extra iron and iodine to replenish the diminished levels during pregnancy. Is it reported that the intake of folic acid help with preventing certain birth defects. After her child is born, he is adequately compensated by his mother's protein rich breast milk. However it is an oversight to ignore the iron fortified infant formulas that ensure his well-being for years to come. He is a sportsman and everyone likes him. He grows up to like Schwarzenegger and he decides to undergo weight training. The resulting depletion accruing from an intensive regime requires him to take protein supplements. He can so choose his particular brand of protein whey (isolate, or blend, or concentrate) by looking up an online supplements shop. A couple of years later he's married and his mother is post menopause. Her low estrogen levels lead her to seek out vitamin D supplements to keep her bones strong. Her son however is complaining of muscle pain, no doubt wrought from his overzealous attempts at beefing up. He sees a doctor and is detected with a slight form of arthritis and now he takes calcium supplements. The story doesn't end here but this is a crude example to provide the need to take supplements.

Supplements are a good method to ensure that your diet isn't lacking any particular mineral or vitamin that is needed by the body at the time. However, it is advisable to take these supplements with caution and after consulting a medical practitioner. Natural supplements are often advertised on their nature but they aren't exempted from being unsafe. Also multiple supplements and their interactions can lead to adverse conditions. If this goes on for some time then it can lead to permanent damage to the relevant tissue or organ. It is for these reasons that supplements are a centre of several debates and they aren't accredited as drugs but foods in the U.S. as under the regulations stipulated by the FDA.

The number of pharmaceutical companies churning out supplements under different avatars and their sheer volume raises the responsibility of the Govt. and the Health professionals to provide a correct analysis of the same. Manufacturing practices and quality are an important criterion to gauge these supplements and steps have been mitigated to control for any undesirable drug. In view of these dangers and the fact that supplements are usually needed, it is paramount to figure out the right supplement. And a little bit of research could take you a long way.